Garrettsville – The (new) doctor will see you now.
Timothy R. Neely, DO, established his family practice at 8:30am Thursday, August 1, 2013 at University Hospitals’ Garrettsville Family Medicine. Fresh from his residency at Summa Western Reserve Hospital in Cuyahoga Falls, Dr. Neely is seeing the former patients of Armelle Jemmy-Noufo, MD, whose last day at the practice was Wednesday.
Dr. Jemmy had taken over the family practice built by Dr. Sang Ming Leu, who retired in March 2012 after 37 years of practice at the 8307 Windham Street location. Dr. Jemmy — the mother of four children ranging in age from 5 to13 — stated she is relocating her practice to University Hospitals’ Chagrin Highlands Health Center to be closer to home and family in Solon.
Dr. Neely says he chose to start his medical career at the Garrettsville practice because, “I wanted to work in a small community close to my hometown of Ravenna and my wife Corrie’s hometown of Burton. I’m very excited about it.”
He also plans to expand the services typically offered at Garrettsville Family Practice, which has primarily provided adult and geriatric care. Dr. Neely says he wants to treat the entire family, not just certain individuals from the family. So the new doctor is ready to treat all age groups, from pediatrics to geriatrics, and everyone in between (including newborns, teens, obstetrics and gynecology).
Dr. Neely graduated from Ravenna High School in 2000, then majored in zoology and pre-med at Kent State University. He went on to study medicine at The Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine. Unlike the more familiar MD approach to medicine, the DO approach is more holistic, addressing the physical, mental and spiritual aspects of the patient. Osteopathic doctors are also licensed to manipulate the musculo-skeletal system, bringing muscle and bone into alignment to allow the body to function optimally.
“So an osteopath takes a whole-body approach to achieve balance in life and doesn’t limit their scope to one certain medical symptom. Rather, we ask questions about a patient’s home life, work pressures and other factors that may contribute to a symptom like high blood pressure,” Neely explains. “And we have all the same functions and privileges of an MD, plus the added benefit of providing manipulation [of the bone and muscle].”
According to the American Osteopathic Association, only 7% of physicians practicing in the United States are osteopathic physicians (as of 2010). Between 1980 and 2005, the annual number of new MDs remained stable at around 16,000. During the same period, the number of new DOs increased by more than 200% (from about 1,150 to about 2,800). Graduates from DO medical programs are expected to increase to 4,000 by 2015.
Dr. Neely will retain the same office hours as Dr. Jemmy: 8:30am-5pm on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays; and 8:30am-noon on Wednesdays. Once school is in session, he plans to extend hours to later in the day to accommodate the schedules of working parents. He also will re-structure the practice from a walk-in clinic to a call-for-appointment medical office. To schedule an appointment, call (330) 527-2617.
